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How cold is too cold for mountain biking?

7657 Views 152 Replies 82 Participants Last post by Curveball, Dec 15, 2021

underblu

Discussion Starter · Dec 9, 2021 (Edited by Moderator)

For those riders in climates less hospitable than SoCal, what if any is your threshold temperature for riding?

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FortOrdMTB

· #2 · Dec 9, 2021

This is likely dependent on location. Here on the central coast under 50 is “cold” and over 70 is “hot.“ my relatives in Oregon and Minnesota have a bit different thresholds. Ha.

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Shark

· #3 · Dec 9, 2021

Into single digits, gets to be not very fun...

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evasive

· #4 · Dec 9, 2021

I’m fine to single digits F. Below that I find something else to do. That’s petty consistent for biking, skiing, or Nordic skiing.

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Monty219

· #5 · Dec 9, 2021

I’ve enjoyed down to zero F. Taking it carefully and enjoying the adventure aspect.

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natas1321

· #6 · Dec 9, 2021

The cut off point for me is in the teens but it rarely gets that cold here.

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r-rocket

· #7 · Dec 9, 2021

When I put my tongue on my stem and it sticks.

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i run shorts down to about 12 celcius, then long pants down to about 5 Celcius. after that its not as much fun and over night temps will freeze the ground. so i dont like riding on it as its traction goes way off and hitting the deck has higher consequence. snow and ice builds in darker corners and its just treacherous.

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Fuse6F

· #9 · Dec 9, 2021 (Edited)

none

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ocnLogan

· #10 · Dec 9, 2021

I’ll ride down to freezing, and a bit under it. Haven’t really ridden mountain bikes colder than about 28-30f though. Mostly because it honestly doesn’t really get colder than that here.

I’ve ridden road/commuting down into the low 20’s.

Honestly it’s about wearing the right stuff, as much as it is anything else. But for me, really I don’t need too much to be able to ride in freezing temps.

A slightly warmer than normal pair of gloves (no skiing gloves needed/wanted), a lightweight long sleeve base layer, and then my normal riding shirt over it. I wear longer socks that basically touch my knee pads, and my normal shorts and chamois, and that’s been fine for me so far.

I did recently pick up a pair of pants… but that’s actually for water/mud reasons (I’m in the PNW). But they were nice on the recent ~38f ride in the rain I did last week, although I did open the vents.

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mtnbkrmike

· #11 · Dec 9, 2021

I generally don’t ride anymore if it’s colder than minus 15 C or 5 F. In prior years I commuted daily in temps as low as 25 below F or minus 32 C but my feet, hands and face just can’t take those temps any more, regardless of how I dress.

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milehi

· #12 · Dec 9, 2021

9* in Big Bear but it's damp.

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Brad Pitted

· #13 · Dec 9, 2021

I’ve done upper single digits with the wind ripping and it was okay. Any colder than that and I feel like the heroine in a Jack London novel. The consequences of getting stranded are just too high.

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mtnbkrmike

· #14 · Dec 9, 2021

Fuse6F said:
…lots of people i know ride snow down into the -15c range on fat bikes w studs. mechanical brakes, etc. ridgid suspension necessary as they dont make great forks designed for -15c temps. here the snow remains fairly consistent ride to ride over the bulk of winter.

My Mastodon, SRAM DOT 5.1 brake fluid brakes, TranzX dropper and Wrathchild studded tires run tubeless, all function flawlessly in temps much colder than minus 15 C. Unfortunately, my feet, hands and face no longer do. I draw the line these days at minus 15 for anything beyond a short commute. It’s just not that enjoyable any more for me, battling the cold.

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OneSpeed

· #15 · Dec 9, 2021

The coldest I've been out was -13f, I only lasted about an hour, but I have new boots now.

Doesn't get that cold here too often though. I'm fine with temps down to zero without much fuss.

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RickBullottaPA

· #16 · Dec 9, 2021

underblu said:
For those riders in climates less hospitable than SoCal, what if any is your threshold temperature for riding?

Around here (eastern PA) we'll do night rides in single digits fairly frequently.

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EKram

· #17 · Dec 9, 2021

Depends. I decide by wind chill factor. In general, I use 40 deg F as an evaluation temp. for a colder ride. I.e. no need to wear a snowmobile suit on a bike ride.

I could ride in a really cold temp and have-knowing that if I stop generating warmth from exertion, it gets too cold fast.

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RobLyman

· #18 · Dec 9, 2021

Fuse6F said:
i run shorts down to about 12 celcius, then long pants down to about 5 Celcius. after that its not as much fun and over night temps will freeze the ground. so i dont like riding on it as its traction goes way off and hitting the deck has higher consequence. snow and ice builds in darker corners and its just treacherous.

Yikes! You mean like this? LOL

On topic. I am in Florida and below 50 F is COOL. I have ridden in Florida down into the 20s, but I did not enjoy it. But then again I ride into the 90s during the summer.

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127.0.0.1

· #19 · Dec 9, 2021

my cutoff in NE is -15 F....
at -15 I am good for about 3hr on road bike or mtb
but yeah it's harsh and if I have a mechanical I need to build a fire or something
to be able to deal with it w/o freezing digits